In the integrated circuit (IC) industry, metal-oxide-semiconductor (MOS) transistors have typically been formed utilizing polysilicon gate electrodes. Polysilicon material has been preferred for use as a MOS gate electrode due to its thermal resistive properties (i.e., polysilicon can better withstand subsequent high temperature processing). Polysilicon's robustness during high temperature processing allows polysilicon to be annealed at high temperatures along with source and drain regions. Furthermore, polysilicon's ability to block the ion implantation of doped atoms into a channel region is advantageous. Due to its ion implantation blocking potential, the polysilicon allows for the easy formation of self-aligned source and drain structures after gate patterning is completed. However, polysilicon gate electrodes have certain disadvantages. For example, polysilicon gate electrodes are formed from semiconductor materials that suffer from higher resistivities than most metal materials. Therefore, polysilicon gate electrodes may operate at much slower speeds than gates made of metallic materials. To partially compensate for this higher resistance, polysilicon materials often require extensive and expensive silicide processing in order to increase their speed of operation to acceptable levels.
A need exists in the industry for a metal gate device which can replace a polysilicon gate device. However, metal gates cannot withstand the higher temperatures and oxidation ambients which can be withstood by conventional polysilicon gate electrodes. In efforts to avoid some of the concerns with polysilicon gate electrodes, a replacement damascene metal gate process has been created. A damascene metal gate process forms a device with a disposable gate, with a source, drain, spacer, etc., as in conventional processing. The disposable gate and dielectrics are etched away, exposing an original gate oxide. The disposable polysilicon gate is then replaced by a metal gate to achieve the lower resistivity provided by the metal material.
One of the concerns in the replacement metal gate process is the gate oxide integrity. Conventional replacement metal gate processes lead to a gate oxide integrity that needs improvement. Another design consideration in semiconductor technology is that of the work function, which is the amount of energy required to excite electrons across the threshold. Polysilicon gates on silicon substrates provide a work function that allows the gates to be adequately controlled. The use of metal, however, as the gate material on a silicon substrate undesirably changes the work function in comparison to polysilicon gates. This reduces the controllability of the gate. A fully silicided gate, on the other hand, may also have issues such as gate oxide integrity, uniformity, thermal stability, and work function.